GOP may object to ratification of governor vote

Legislative tradition poised to fall

CHRIS MCGAN, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

By CHRIS MCGANN, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, January 4, 2005

John Woolf of Graham attends a rally near Fort Lewis yesterday for military votes protesters say weren't counted in the governor's race. "I believe the political process has been abused, and there should be a revote," Woolf said.
Photo: Scott Eklund/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

House Minority Leader Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, said yesterday that unless questions are answered about the election process -- specifically about how several counties counted thousands more votes than there were voters recorded -- Republicans plan to object.

Chandler said House Republicans plan to "work with whoever wins the race," but he added that with all the unanswered questions, "we don't know who won the election, and we never will."

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said it's time to put the election behind and move forward to address the pressing issues of the state. She said election officials followed the rules. Brown said Republicans are upset because their candidate lost.

"It's not about the result," Chandler said. "The rules were not followed, and that's something the Legislature should take very seriously. ... We reserve judgment until the issues are addressed."

Sen. Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland, echoed Chandler's concerns and joined a growing chorus of Republicans suggesting a new election would be the best resolution.

He said there was clearly partisan bias in administering the election. But he said it was still unclear if that bias rose to the level of outright fraud.

"One county seems to have had an overly large impact," Finkbeiner said of King County, where Gregoire picked up that vast majority of the votes that propelled her to victory.

Rossi won the initial count by 261 votes out of about 2.8 million cast, and he prevailed in the mandatory recount by 42 votes.

After the Republicans raise their objection next week, they likely would make a motion to defer ratification for a week or two, Chandler said.

Because Republicans are the minority in both chambers, they most likely will be outvoted. But Chandler said that's not a foregone conclusion.

"I don't assume much because I believe (Democratic) members, especially suburban members who are hearing from constituents as much as we are," Chandler said.

Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said lawmakers should follow the law, ratify the election and forge ahead.

Gregoire said she thinks the Republicans' threats are bad for the people of Washington. "I find it highly unfortunate that we continue to have this kind of rhetoric that I hear out there. The idea that these individuals as auditors have not performed their jobs admirably -- there's nothing further from the truth"

She implored people to reserve judgment about discrepancies between votes counted and lists of voters who cast ballots until county elections officials have time to explain.